From German Patent Disclosure DE 197 36 774 A1 of the present Applicant, a method for information display in a motor vehicle is known that makes image-based laneholding possible. To that end, a video camera fixed in the vehicle is provided, which records the lanes located in front of the vehicle, including the traffic signs. The video signals furnished by the video camera are assessed for illegal driving conditions. If an illegal mode of driving is detected, such as exceeding the speed limit excessively, or passing in a segment of road where passing is prohibited, warning signals to the driver are generated.
From German Utility Model DE 298 02 953 U, an electronic system for detecting traffic signs and displaying them on a display is also known.
From German Utility Model DE 299 02 457 U1, also of the present Applicant, an apparatus for detecting the area around a vehicle and having a camera system for generating video signals is known that has at least two cameras with overlapping fields of view. The cameras furnish a stereoscopic video sequence to an image processing unit, which detects and classifies traffic signs on the basis of three-dimensional pattern recognition and image processing. Besides traffic signs, the apparatus is simultaneously capable of detecting vehicles driving or at a stop ahead of the vehicle and issuing warning signals, depending on the traffic situation, or actively intervening in the operating state of the vehicle. Examples given of active interventions of this kind are regulating the spacing between vehicles in stop-and-go traffic or long lines of traffic by intervention into the brake controller and engine controller of the vehicle, or triggering an automatic steering system.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,295 A1, a method is known that is intended to prevent collisions between vehicles that are traveling through an intersection without traffic signs or along a poorly visible stretch of road. This method requires both a device fixed to the road and devices fixed to the vehicle, which communicate with one another by radio.
From German Patent Disclosure DE 198 30 547 A1, an intersection warning system is also known, which must likewise rely on devices on the road and devices in the vehicle.